Things are generally never quiet around Old Trafford and the last couple of days have been no different. Since the defeat against Chelsea the fallout continues to rain down in the media with Sir Alex Ferguson’s comments after the game attracting most attention.

After the loss Sir Alex said “You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway – and we didn’t get that. I must say, when I saw who the referee was I feared it. I feared the worst.”

It was these comments which have landed him with a charge of improper conduct and the manager has until 4pm GMT on Tuesday to respond to the charge. If found guilty he could be out for at least four matches, as he also has a two match suspension hanging over him from previous comments made about Alan Wiley in 2009.

Though, his comments may not be entriely wrong as Branislav Ivanovic said in an interview The Sun: “I find the penalty for Chelsea very dubious. It was too easily adjudged. I have to admit that after seeing it again. I thought it was a penalty when Zhirkov fell but, afterwards, I saw it never was.”

As many United this week – myself included – have been watching re-runs of ‘that’ goal against Arsenal, many defenders beaten and thousands of crosses made, all by Ryan Giggs who celebrated 20 years as a first team player this week. A tremendous achievement and one that won’t ever be surpassed. John O’Shea added his thoughts and sees Giggs playing until he is 40, whilst going on to comment: “You see how the manager has built squads and Giggsy has been a vital part of every single one of them, It’s just incredible. Maldini springs to mind with AC Milan but I think Giggsy has even gone past him,” he told FIFA.com.

But I ask where does Giggs rank among the all-time greats? Has he indeed surpasses Paolo Maldini for longevity and class? Is he the best player ever to put on a United shirt?

Another player who has signed on to extend his career at United is Michael Carrick. He put pen to paper on a three year deal that will keep him at Old Trafford until the summer of 2014.

After announcing the deal, Carrick was delighted, “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at this great club. There is fantastic team spirit within the squad and I’m pleased to have committed my future to United,” he told the official website.

“We are in a very good position at the moment and I am confident this team will be successful for many years to come.”

Winger Nani leads the way in the Premier League assists chart with 15 so far this season, and combined with his nine goals, he is without a doubt having the best of his career. But he doesn’t attribute this to a Fergie rolicking or extra time spent on the training pitch. It is actually all down to his socks… yes, his socks.

The Portuguese wears his socks the wrong way round and in an interview with the Daily Mirror Nani said: “The first time it happened was an accident. It was a new kit and I didn’t know which way I was meant to put them on.” He explained.

“I realised I’d got it wrong when I saw everybody else had the Nike logo facing the front. But then when it came to the next game, I thought: ‘No, I might wear mine like this again.’

“Since then, it’s become something of a superstition.”

Finally, there have been some leaked pictures of the Manchester United home kit for next season. What do you think?

@Jay wire: I will agree with you on the first two points Jay but would beg to differ on the leadership aspect. Its not that i dont agree with you if he is captain material or not but the sort of personality when pacing the game, all his seasons it been either why he isn’t running up and down the midfeild like a headless chicken, why doesn’t he score(which is a common complaint for Anderson) aka why he inst the new roy keane. He was never known to do the above before comming to us but people wanted him to play that way and he hasn’t and thus the gripe they have with him…as it stands now he is our most stable midfielder and if he had a domineering midfeild partner with quality skills(aka not Fletcher), we would be winning in style so to speak

..i think the league experience cleverly is getting is irreplaceable and it is the same for welbeck…I think if Owen leaves in the summer which might or might not do Welbeck can slot right in…i am however saddened by Macheda, i think he should have chosen an English club over where he is right now

Back on the secret 30 million Euros offer for Alexis Sanchez. Why would the bidder ask to remain in anonymity? That is not the MO of Real Madrid (ask Ronaldo), Barcelona (ask Fabregas), City, or Chelsea (ask Torres) mainly because these clubs have relatively infinite supplies of cash to splash on stars; however, this is not the case for United and Arsenal who cannot afford and open bidding war against any of those clubs.

Is United the secret bidder? I think so. Can we avoid competition from other clubs for his signature… I am not sure but this “secret” offer puts off other clubs because
1. It is a solid offer and any higher will touch on crazy City-cash.
2. Who else needs a Sanchez as much as us? We have Giggs on 1 leg and Vally and Nani. We are the embodiment of wide play. Madrid and Barca have enough young firepower on their wings (Ronaldo, Di Maria, Messi, Pedro, etc). Chelsea are too narrow for his style and just spent 70 million. City have Milner and Johnson and Kolarov and are a midfield-centric team, too. Maybe Arsenal (Arshavin is getting old and rumors of him being sold are gathering pace), but we can outbid them.
3. Not knowing which club put in the offer makes counter-offers risky… would Madrid really spend 35 or 40 million if City is the secret club and will just outbid them or is Sanchez even worth a substantially higher bid (35,40+ million)? Most would say no.

I surely hope he is strongly featured on Fergie’s wishlist!!! Along with a decent center midfielder, we could be back to our best attacking football…

@Don: Im glad welbeck is doing good things at sunderland, but he still faces a uphill battle at United. Look at how well Chicha has done and he still cant displace Rooney or Berba. Welbeck will not only have to beat out Chicha but the 2 incumbents as well.

@[OPTI]Madschester United: I like your logic about United being the bidder. I think its safe to assume that Arsenal are out of the running because Wenger is too scared to put his money where his mouth is, he is quite fine with paying peanuts for little known players but he is wont drop the big cheese for a known quantity. Its hard to rule out citeh though because their transfer policy has no logic, they already head tevez and adebayor then they go and buy balotelli. adebayor leaves because he could get a game to save his life and they go and buy dzeko. Which is even more dumbfounding because they only play with one striker.

I am curious to see how cite stay relevant when the financial fair play kicks in, they have no real fanbase around the world let alone manchester and without european football I dont see them generating alot of revenue. I could totally see a scenario were the sheiks get pissed of leave the wastelands piled in debt and a lot of over priced footballers.

Gotta agree on the Phelan point. I fail to see what he has done. He was a defender but our defence is much shakier these days than it was a few years ago. Our players do not seem any more motivated. If anything we only seem to be able to pump ourselves up for the big games. We’ve looked positively lacklustre against weaker opposition. And while I do not think tactics are of as overwhelming importance as Jay Wire suggests, Phelan certainly doesn’t strike me as a master tactician.

Quieroz was a perfect match for Fergie. He had the soft touch and avuncular style which was great for the youngsters and with his language skills helped our latin contingent settle (If I remember correctly Ruud suggested he was Ronaldo’s dad!!!). He pioneered the 4-5-1 which enabled us to finally crack Europe after years of getting ripped apart away from home playing 4-4-2. He found a way to combine the talents of Tevez Ronaldo and Rooney in a way that made us positively unplayable. And amazingly Fergie trusted him enough to make tactical innovations, something he never allowed anyone else to do.

I definitely wouldn’t mind Alexis Sanchez. But I think ppl who haven’t regularly watched him may be a lil bit disappointed/suprised about their perception of him. He is not very consistent particularly when played wide. In fact, beginning of this season, he was a bit unsteady, but late last year, Udinese coach decided to move him more infield, behind Di Natale and he suddenly exploded. He hasn’t looked back since. Forget Villa-Messi, Di Natale-Sanchez is the best strike partnership you’ve never seen. Some games he’s just simply unplayable. But if what ppl are looking for is a winger, you may be slightly disappointed. Kind of a better version of Obertan.

But the recent reports coming about how Javier Pastore is close to signing,are confusing me. I don’t know if I’d like that or if it’ll work. I’m sure it’s all empty nonsense, but I’m not too keen on him at United. Excruciatingly inconsistent is the best description of him. So much hopes for him, but I guess his old fashioned playmaker approach is always a gamble. Very good on the ball, and sometimes reminds me of Zidane or Rivaldo, but it’s almost suicidal to play him in a two man CM. Typical Argentine playmaker. Very Riquelme like, but like him, can completely fade in some games, when nothing seems to work. But he has bags of talent and if he manages to establish some consistency on a world class level, then mark my words, Argentina will win the next WC. Yeah right.

Deflated. Just watched all Juventus hopes of playing in Europe completely disappear with a 1 nil loss to Milan. Completely out of depth. Need quality in the ranks. Please Hiddink/Lippi come and take charge.

Unconvincing. Barca beat a determined but sure relegation candidate, Real Zaragoza 1 nil at the Nou Camp. Usual attacking verve but the many changes made for a rather less than incisive performance. With Arsenal coming, they need to put their house in order.

Unfortunate. Ronaldo will miss the next 2-3 weeks due to a hamstring injury sustained in the mega 7-0 crushing of Malaga in midweek. He’ll be happy to know that joint top scorer and fierce Golden Boot rival Leo Messi, failed to score tonight, although he got an assist. It’s amazing that these guys are both 10 goals ahead of the next top scorer, the prolific David Villa, and have double the goals of former Red(United) Guisseppe Rossi. Speaking of former Reds, two of them, the aforementioned Rossi and hard done by Diego Forlan are currently kicking it out and it’s the latter’s team that has just scored through former United target Kun Aguero, what can never be called a winner given the attack minded nature of the two teams. Oh and the former, earlier proved my math wrong, with a goal so it’s no longer half of Ronaldo or Messi’s goals.

Shame. Bayern Munich were earlier crushed 3-1 by Hannover. Louis Van Gaal is surely going to be sacked now. Hope they knock catennacio inventors and 4th in my black book list, Inter Milan out of the Champions League though.

Uninspired. Arsenal, failed to take advantage of the robbery suffered by United. Technically brilliant, mentally insufficient. Man City break a 3 game winless streak to beat Wigan narrowly at home. Expired.

On the plus side he is 19. I see him being used in a wide role…currently we have 4 first team strikers one of whom is always injured and never plays….to be honest i can’t see Danny spending 2 years on loan at Sunderland….he will either be brought back as our 4th option or sold…we have a dearth of young players who are premiership caliber (maybe not United calibre) which will make for some very tough decisions in the next 18 months…some very good young players will be sold (predict Macheda…yes i think he is a good player)…then again a serious injury to 1 of Berba or Rooney and all of a sudden we will lack depth at striker…I would be satisfied with a striking cadre of Berba, Rooney, Chicha, Welbeck and Macheda for next season…Owen released and Diouf being sold…Bebe graduating to a first team bench role from the reserves…hehe

In a way I am glad we have such a little margin for error in our bid to win #19. I have never trusted this current bunch when they have room to relax, I feel that they need to fell the pressure of having their backs to the wall in order to perform their best. It also forces fergie hand to go for win instead of trying to play it safe, draws arent going to do us any good so fergie has to attack. I know I am prolly jinxing us right now but I have a good feeling about the Anfield game. We came out strong against chelsea but ran out of gas. I can see fergie fielding a similar side and us putting 2 maybe 3 past the dippers.

has anyone on this site a good word to say about saf. everyone can see our midfield is lacking at least 2 quality players but for fs we’re top of the league, stop slagging him and appriciate were he’s put us this season with an average united team. utd are on the verge of 19 leagues, are you’s all going to cry it in or enjoy it coming home. wait till he’s gone and see what your got to cry about. said that many times on here. its all right replacing him but saf knows what the clubs about, you’s will all regret what you’ve said when he’s gone. who else could put this team top, no one. he instill’s it in the players. so get behind him and bring on 19. hope we tank those scum bags tomara. MUFC

@johnsom33: He is still using more or less the same setup. Never 2 strikers up front. But maybe today with Carroll back he might play Caroll and SUarez. Wont be easy to handle with Vidic and Rio out. Caroll had caused us problems against newcastle.